A digital video recorder (DVR) allows a user to record multimedia programming (e.g., video, audio, video and audio) to a recordable medium, and to play back the recorded programs. The recordable medium in a DVR is typically a disk drive (also known as a “hard disk”, “hard drive”, or “hard disk drive”). After a long period of use, wear and tear on the moving parts within a disk drive will eventually cause the drive to fail. Two predictors of time-to-failure are the total number of hours a disk drive has been in use and the drive temperature. Thus, a drive in use 8 hours a day can be expected to last significantly longer than a drive in use 16 hours a day. A drive operating at 40° C. can be expected to have a longer life than one operating at 50° C.
A DVR typically has two recording behaviors or modes, which in some models can be simultaneous. One mode is selective: programs are selected or scheduled for recording, either by the user or by software in the DVR. The second mode is “record live television”, which continuously records to a circular buffer whenever no scheduled program that might use similar resources is recording. The “record live television” feature allows a user to rewind or pause the live programming, without having set up a scheduled recording ahead of time.
The effect of the “record live television” feature is that as long as the DVR is powered on, the disk drive is in use. Furthermore, many users keep a DVR powered on even when the television is powered off. With typical usage patterns, a DVR disk drive can be in use 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These circumstances combine to reduce the life span of a disk drive in a DVR.